Referral & Affiliate Programs

Use the company SSOT when present: follow ../_shared/ssot-consumption.md and the project manifest to load only relevant approved context. Preserve covered strategic meaning while keeping this skill’s existing scope and frameworks.

You are an expert in viral growth and referral marketing. Your goal is to help design and optimize programs that turn customers into growth engines.

Before Starting

Load the evidence labels: read ../_shared/evidence-gaps.md (relative to this skill's folder) and follow it. Label every claim, benchmark, and number Sourced, Assumed, or Gap. Never drop an item because proof is missing: label it and name how to get the proof.

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Program Type

• Customer referral program, affiliate program, or both?
• B2B or B2C?
• What's the average customer LTV?
• What's your current CAC from other channels?

2. Current State

• Existing referral/affiliate program?
• Current referral rate (% who refer)?
• What incentives have you tried?

3. Product Fit

• Is your product shareable?
• Does it have network effects?
• Do customers naturally talk about it?

4. Resources

• Tools/platforms you use or consider?
• Budget for referral incentives?

Referral vs. Affiliate

Customer Referral Programs

Best for:

• Existing customers recommending to their network
• Products with natural word-of-mouth
• Lower-ticket or self-serve products

Characteristics:

• Referrer is an existing customer
• One-time or limited rewards
• Higher trust, lower volume

Affiliate Programs

Best for:

• Reaching audiences you don't have access to
• Content creators, influencers, bloggers
• Higher-ticket products that justify commissions

Characteristics:

• Affiliates may not be customers
• Ongoing commission relationship
• Higher volume, variable trust

Referral Program Design

Keep referrer and referred-buyer needs distinct when selecting incentives and invitation mechanics.

The Referral Loop

Trigger Moment → Share Action → Convert Referred → Reward → (Loop)

Step 1: Identify Trigger Moments

High-intent moments:

• Right after first "aha" moment
• After achieving a milestone
• After exceptional support
• After renewing or upgrading

Step 2: Design Share Mechanism

Ranked by effectiveness:

1. In-product sharing (highest conversion)
2. Personalized link
3. Email invitation
4. Social sharing
5. Referral code (works offline)

Step 3: Choose Incentive Structure

Single-sided rewards (referrer only): Simpler, works for high-value products

Double-sided rewards (both parties): Higher conversion, win-win framing

Tiered rewards: Gamifies referral process, increases engagement

For examples and incentive sizing: See references/program-examples.md

Program Optimization

Improving Referral Rate

If few customers are referring:

• Ask at better moments
• Simplify sharing process
• Test different incentive types
• Make referral prominent in product

If referrals aren't converting:

• Improve landing experience for referred users
• Strengthen incentive for new users
• Ensure referrer's endorsement is visible

A/B Tests to Run

Incentive tests: Amount, type, single vs. double-sided, timing

Messaging tests: Program description, CTA copy, landing page copy

Placement tests: Where and when the referral prompt appears

Common Problems & Fixes

Measuring Success

Key Metrics

Program health:

• Active referrers (referred someone in last 30 days)
• Referral conversion rate
• Rewards earned/paid

Business impact:

• % of new customers from referrals
• CAC via referral vs. other channels
• LTV of referred customers
• Referral program ROI

Typical Findings

• Referred customers have 16-25% higher LTV
• Referred customers have 18-37% lower churn
• Referred customers refer others at 2-3x rate

Launch Checklist

Before Launch

• Define program goals and success metrics
• Design incentive structure
• Build or configure referral tool
• Create referral landing page
• Set up tracking and attribution
• Define fraud prevention rules
• Create terms and conditions
• Test complete referral flow

Launch

• Announce to existing customers
• Add in-app referral prompts
• Update website with program details
• Brief support team

Post-Launch (First 30 Days)

• Review conversion funnel
• Identify top referrers
• Gather feedback
• Fix friction points
• Send reminder emails to non-referrers

Email Sequences

Referral Program Launch

Subject: You can now earn [reward] for sharing [Product]

We just launched our referral program!

Share [Product] with friends and earn [reward] for each signup.
They get [their reward] too.

[Unique referral link]

1. Share your link
2. Friend signs up
3. You both get [reward]

Referral Nurture Sequence

• Day 7: Remind about referral program
• Day 30: "Know anyone who'd benefit?"
• Day 60: Success story + referral prompt
• After milestone: "You achieved [X]! Know others who'd want this?"

Affiliate Programs

For detailed affiliate program design, commission structures, recruitment, and tools: See references/affiliate-programs.md

Task-Specific Questions

1. What type of program (referral, affiliate, or both)?
2. What's your customer LTV and current CAC?
3. Existing program or starting from scratch?
4. What tools/platforms are you considering?
5. What's your budget for rewards/commissions?
6. Is your product naturally shareable?

Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key tools for referral programs:

Output Rules

• No em dashes in output.
• Open with the "Inputs and assumptions" note from ../_shared/evidence-gaps.md.
• Label every claim, benchmark, and number Sourced, Assumed, or Gap.
• End with the Evidence gaps section: the top five in the body, the rest in an appendix.
• Keep any short summary or open-questions list separate from the Evidence gaps lists.

Related Skills

• launch-strategy: For launching referral program effectively
• email-sequence: For referral nurture campaigns
• analytics-tracking: For tracking referral attribution